September 26, 2016 · 8:08 AM ET

No. 1:Rivers, Clippers ready to challenge Warriors — They can’t hide from it, the expectations or the obstacles. And Doc Rivers knows as much, has prepared for as much heading into the 2016-17 NBA season with designs on taking the Los Angeles Clippers to places they haven’t been before, even with the Golden State Warriors and their superstar-studded roster (Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green) standing in the way. Rivers insists his Clippers are ready to challenge the Warriors, no matter what the doubters think. Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times breaks down the challenges facing the Clippers with training camps set to kick off around the league:

Last season the Clippers had another successful regular season (53-29) and had high hopes going in the playoffs. But that quickly evaporated when they lost a first-round series to the Portland Trail Blazers.

Paul broke his right hand and Griffin reinjured his left quadriceps tendon in Game 4, forcing both to miss the last two games of the series.

Once again there were complaints that the L.A. Clippers still had never made it past the second round of the playoffs.

“You should never run from the truth. That’s true,” Rivers said. “But getting past the second round is such a [expletive] goal. That’s not my goal. My goal is to be the winner. So, to be the winner, part of that is getting past the second round. The second round talk does nothing for me. The endgame is being the winner.”

Rivers quickly pointed out that “we’re not” one of the favorites to win the 2017 NBA championship.

Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has the Warriors as the title favorites at 5-7 odds, with defending NBA champion Cleveland second (5-2), San Antonio third (6-1) and the Clippers fourth (20-1).

“We’re in the conversation,” Rivers said.

So much of the Clippers’ success will be determined by the health of Paul and Griffin, both of whom Rivers said are 100% healthy based on how well they have looked while playing in pickup games at the practice facility.

But Griffin has another cloud hovering over him. He broke his right hand in a fight last January with then Clippers assistant equipment manager Matias Testi.

Griffin penned a letter to Clippers fans on the Players’ Tribune Friday, apologizing for last season.

“It’s been a hard year for Blake – from the knee injury to the Matias thing,” Rivers said. “Blake had a year of life lessons. And that’s OK. I don’t have a problem with that. We all have them. I actually will say Blake is in the best physical and mental place he’s been in since I’ve been here.”

The Clippers will gather together for media day Monday and open their training camp Tuesday at UC Irvine.

In recent weeks Rivers has watched as San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has taken a knee during the the national anthem in his quest to raise awareness about racial injustice.

“When I hear people say, you have to stand with your team, that’s true. But there are certain issues that transcend everything,” Rivers said. “This is a very serious problem we have. And to me, none of us are smart enough to know the solutions. But what we can do is start the debate and the talk.

“And usually when enough people get to talking, there are usually results in some type of action. To me, whether you like what Kaepernick did or not – and it’s not for me to tell you if you should or shouldn’t – the fact that you’re reading about a statement that I’m making about it means what he’s doing has had an impact. Now we have to get to the endgame and that’s the hard part.”

On the basketball court, the hard part for the Clippers and the rest of the league will be getting past the Warriors with Durant and two-time MVP Stephen Curry as the expected super team of the NBA.

“There’s always going to be a competitor in our league. There’s never going to be one team that wins it every year,” Rivers said. “There’s always going to be someone that’s standing in front of you and our job is to stand directly in front of them and block their way.…

“But that’s fine, if that’s what people want to believe [about the Warriors]. We’re just not going to believe that crap.”

April 24, 2016 · 4:41 PM ET

CHARLOTTE — It’s playoff basketball, not professional boxing or mixed martial arts or anything of the sort. It’s just playoff basketball.

So don’t fix your eyes on this first round playoff series between the Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets and look any deeper into any of the scrappiness between the two teams. Just because guys have to be separated now and then and words are exchanged, neither the Heat nor the Hornets are interested in any of the playoff dramatics going on elsewhere in this postseason.

“It’s the NBA, there aren’t really any fights,” Heat veteran Luol Deng said. “Not really, not during my time in the league. Guys don’t want to fight. There might be one punch and then it gets broken up. But no real fights. This isn’t hockey.”

Tell that to Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook or LeBron James and Andre Drummond or Isaiah Thomas and Dennis Schroder. All of them have been been caught up in the first round dramatics, in one way or another.

Durant was ejected late in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Game 3 win over the Dallas Mavericks for smacking Justin Anderson in the face. Both Drummond and Thomas will not be suspended for contact against James and Schroder, respectively, that would have seemed to warrant suspension.

Game 3 of the Heat-Hornets series Saturday night featured plenty of opportunities for things to escalate and maybe even get out of hand, but cooler head prevailed time and again.

Hornets point guard Kemba Walker had one heated exchange with Heat center Hassan Whiteside that seemed like it was headed for craziness, only to have players on both sides calm each other down before things got completely out of hand.

“It’s the playoffs,” Walker said. “The intensity is up. Trying to win a series here. Both teams are going to be scratching and clawing, trying to do anything possible to win a basketball game. They have great ball pressure and so do we, so guys are going to get hit. It’s going to be tough out there … anything possible to win a game.”

Walker, however, went to make sure he set the right tone for Monday’s Game 4 showdown at Time Warner Cable Arena.

“I’m not a troublemaker,” he said and then smiled. “It’s just basketball, playoff basketball.”

April 23, 2016 · 12:04 PM ET

CHARLOTTE — It happened in Boston Friday night. So why not here today?

The Charlotte Hornets need to find a way to reverse their fortunes against the Miami Heat in Game 3 of this first round playoff series, and they hope to use a little home-court magic to do so.

The Boston Celtics rebounded from a franchise-low seven-point first quarter in their Game 2 loss to the Atlanta Hawks by scoring 37 points in their Game 3 win at home Friday night, behind a monstrous effort from All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas.

The Hornets need a similar boost from their star point guard, Kemba Walker, who promises that the environment and energy provided by the home fans will factor into his team’s performance.

“I know it’s going to be live, exciting and electrifying and our fans will be great,” Walker said, “We definitely would love to feed off the energy of our crowd.”

The Hornets finished the regular season with a 30-11 record at Time Warner Cable Arena, the third best home record in the Eastern Conference behind Cleveland and Toronto.

“We’re expecting a big boost,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. “Our fans have been great all year and our guys love playing here. Right from the get-go, we’ve played really well at home and I think we’ll play a lot better [today].”

The Hornets need to shore up their defense after giving up an average of 119 points on 58 percent shooting, 53 percent from beyond the 3-point line, in Games 1 and 2. They’ll also have to work without second-leading scorer Nic Batum, who is out indefinitely with a left foot sprain suffered in Game 2.

“We’re just trying to get a win,” Walker said. “That’s it. But we want to be locked in and to do the things we need to do to get a win, and that’s to be better defensively overall.”

The Heat have pounded the Hornets with their size advantage in the first two games, so Clifford has to decide whether he wants to go big with Batum’s replacement and insert rookie 7-footer Frank Kaminsky into the starting lineup. Or he can go with a smaller and potentially more explosive lineup and go with sixth man Jeremy Lin alongside Walker in the first five.

Clifford said the Heat’s size, at every position, has been the key difference in the series so far. But the versatility a smaller lineup provides cannot be overlooked. So he’ll continue to analyze his options right up until the final moments and reveal his decision right before the game.

Whatever he decides, the Hornets will have the added boost of their home crowd fueling whatever starting lineup they trot out onto the floor for what breaks down as their most important game (home or otherwise) of the season.

April 16, 2016 · 5:37 PM ET

The playoffs. It’s the time of year when everybody has a little extra bounce in their step, when everybody can’t wait to get to the arena.

But probably nobody more than Miami assistant coach Keith Smart, who finished up the last of his cancer treatments and will return to his regular duties as the Heat take on the Hornets.

The inimitable Michael Wallace of ESPN.com caught up to Smart:

“They beat me up pretty bad,” Smart said Saturday of the cancer treatments. “I still have some of the recovery scars, but overall, the plan was to get Keith Smart’s life healthy again. Wherever that fell at some point — it just so happened that I finished up my treatments and went through a couple of rehabilitations — I got healthy enough to fly back here.”

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Smart will have a vital role in the team’s playoff preparation, but wasn’t certain if Smart will coach from the bench during the games. Smart said he continues to work on his conditioning and stamina in hopes of working with players on the court during practice sessions.

“He’s here for good right now,” Spoelstra said Saturday of Smart. “He’s going to be involved. Whether or not he’s on the bench, he’s going to be involved every meeting.”

It’s been a long and challenging road back for Smart, who discovered the cancer in November, just four games into the Heat’s regular season. He first left the team a month later for surgery and returned in late January before leaving again to undergo more rounds of aggressive chemotherapy. Heat players, coaches and staff members kept in contact with Smart through calls and text messages.

The most difficult moment came midway through the schedule of chemo treatments, when Smart said he grew too weak to file the game reports.

“My focus has always been on what we’re doing and the details,” Smart said. “I would present that to Coach. I told him at one point between treatments 15 and 18, that’s when it really hit me and I couldn’t concentrate — I was so tired. I told him, ‘Well, the reports are going to now start dropping, because I can’t keep up with them.’ And he said, ‘Well, why are you still doing those things anyway?’ But I wanted to be a part of it. I wanted to be close to it, and I was able to do a little bit of that.”

February 10, 2016 · 9:09 PM ET

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist of the Hornets dislocated his right shoulder after hitting the floor Wednesday night in Indiana — the same shoulder that cost him the first 46 games of the season.

There was no immediate word how long Kidd-Gilchrist would be out this time.

He had surgery in October to repair a torn labrum and was expected to miss most or all of the season, only to return Jan. 29. In his first six games back, the small forward known for his defense averaged 13.5 points and seven rebounds in 31 minutes a night while shooting 52.6 percent.

December 30, 2015 · 7:52 PM ET

Hornets center Al Jefferson is expected to be sidelined six weeks because of a torn cartilage in his right knee, the team announced Wednesday.

Surgery is scheduled for Thursday.

Jefferson is averaging 12.5 points and 6.1 rebounds in 25,2 minutes while shooting 48.2 percent in 19 games. He had made two appearances since missing 11 games in a row, six to a calf injury and five while suspended by the league for violating the drug policy.

No. 1: Houston, we have a problem — A rough start to the season is one thing. It could happen anywhere, even in a place like Houston, where James Harden and the Rockets were supposed to be ready for prime time after a deep playoff run last season. Well, this might be more than just a rough start. No team in NBA history has lost its first three games of a season by 20 or more points. The Rockets lost to Miami by 109-89 Sunday after leading by as many as 21 earlier in the game. Per Elias, that’s the first time a team has lost a game by 20 or more after leading it by 20 or more since the Los Angeles Clippers did so on March 18, 2000. Three straight 20-plus point beatings is as many as the Rockets had all last season. Houston, we have a problem. A serious problem, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle noted in the aftermath of Sunday’s third straight clunker:

Remember all the times last season that the Rockets, playing with Dwight Howard and Terrence Jones out, argued James Harden’s MVP case by asking to imagine them without Harden to carry them?

There is no need to imagine any longer.

With Howard and Jones unavailable on Sunday, Harden’s spectacular shooting slump to start the season moved to new brick-laying levels that the shorthanded Rockets could not begin to overcome.

The Rockets blew a 21-point second half lead and were blown out by the Miami Heat, 109-89, their third 20-point loss to open the season as Harden scored just a pair of second half points, both from the line.

Harden took 10 3-pointers and missed them all, falling to 2 of 33 from beyond the arc. Yet, despite his shooting problems, five of his seven second-half shots came from beyond the arc, the last easily swatted away by Heat center Hassan Whiteside.

With Howard unavailable to rest in the first game of a back-to-back and Jones out because of a cut on his right eyelid, the Rockets went with a small lineup and got 21 points from Marcus Thornton in his first start. But he had just two in the second half as the Rockets offense crashed and burned.

The Rockets had just 26 second-half points, making 11 of 36 shots with 12 turnovers.

***

No. 2:Rondo and Russell, Louisville’s finest to battle and bond — Louisville natives Rajon Rondo and D’Angelo Russell share more than just the same position, city roots and high school coach (Doug Bibby). They also share similar hoop dreams for this season, as both hope to help lift their respective teams from the lottery and into the Western Conference playoff mix. As much as the Sacramento Kings’ veteran Rondo will battle against the Los Angeles Lakers’ rookie Russell, and Rondo schooled Russell and the Lakers in their first meeting Friday night, he’s also willing to serve as a mentor for someone who has followed in his footsteps. Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com details the connective tissue shared by Louisville’s finest:

“Their games are definitely different: D’Angelo is a little more methodical; Rajon is cat quick,” Bibby said. “But their passing and their basketball IQ was definitely something that I noticed that was very similar when I first got D’Angelo.

“Their ability to see two plays ahead and their passing ability to see things that a very few percentage of ball players and point guards can see — it was very, very similar.”

Bibby wanted to guide Russell along Rondo’s path, but he didn’t need to show Russell much film of Rondo, since all Russell needed to do was turn on the television and watch Rondo star in nationally-televised games with the Boston Celtics alongside Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce.

“It was great, just knowing that he was so successful from the same city, the same high school,” Russell said.

Rondo feels the same way, and he’s intrigued. He recently picked Bryant’s brain about Russell, and Rondo and Russell have now exchanged numbers. A potential mentorship appears to be underway.

“He’s a great young kid,” Rondo said. “I’m happy for him. I’m happy another kid from my city made it.”

Russell mentioned Rondo as a player that he wants to model his game after, but things are a bit different now that he will face Rondo in head-to-head matchups.

“It’s hard to say that at this level now when you’re competing, because I’m looking at it like, that’s a weakness,” Russell said. “Like [Rondo could say], ‘This kid looked up to me, I’ve got him.’”

***

No. 3:‘No worries for the Warriors — Lucky, huh? The Golden State Warriors don’t need luck when they have the reigning KIA MVP, Stephen Curry, shredding the opposition. Any worries about how this team would handle success, the adversity of losing coach Steve Kerr or big man Andrew Bogut have been answered emphatically by the reigning champs hardly any anyone picked to do it again. Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group explains why those in the know in the Bay Area were never worried about this team:

Rather than showing signs of a championship hangover, MVP Stephen Curry and the Warriors appear to be better than ever.

No Steve Kerr? No Andrew Bogut? No problem.

The Warriors are 3-0, winning by almost 17 points per game as they return home to face Memphis on Monday night for a fourth straight game against a 2014-15 playoff team.

“People think we weren’t supposed to be the champs last year,” Curry said Saturday night after scoring 53 points at New Orleans. “I wasn’t supposed to be MVP, whatever. But I want to go out and play well and be better than I was last year.”

Curry has scored 118 points in the three games (39.3 average) and is shooting 58.8 percent. His 53 points Saturday night — one short of his career high — came in 36 minutes. Nobody since Kobe Bryant in 2005 has scored so many points in so few minutes; Kobe had 62 in 36.

“I’m feeling pretty energetic, pretty strong out there on the floor,” Curry said. “I’m playing free, just having fun. Usually good things happen when all that comes together.

“I’m in a good spot right now.”

***

No. 4: Cavaliers have to fight against themselves in Philly — The Cleveland Cavaliers will face plenty of trap games and sticky situations this season, such is the case for a team nearly every pundit is picking to win it all this season. And they’ll face one of those instances today in Philadelphia, where a 76ers team that has issues of its own wouldn’t appear to present much of a challenge to the visiting Cavaliers. That’s exactly why the Cavaliers have to fight against themselves in the City of Brotherly Love. Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com provides some context:

It’s been hard for players to get up for games in Philly.

Instead of putting their players through such an uninspiring contest, opposing teams typically sit their best players against the Sixers. Why risk an injury?

Philadelphia presents a challenge some coaches believe isn’t worth the hassle, but the Cavaliers will accept.

“Everybody will play,” Cavs coach David Blatt said after Sunday’s practice. “…”We know that we have an opponent to play and a job to do.”

If the Cavaliers are a legitimate title contender, games like these are what a championship mentality and culture. The objective is to dominate your opposition early and make it an easy night.

“It’s something that we addressed,” Cavs power forward Kevin Love said of staying focused. “We know that we’re going to get everybody’s best shot so in that regard, we know they’re going to come out and fight. But we have to be in the right mindset every single game. And I think it helps that we’re on the road as well because we’ll have that us-against-the-world mentality.”

NEWS OF THE MORNING

No. 1: Harden exits game with bruised right knee — Houston Rockets held their collective breath for a moment Sunday when James Harden suffered a right knee contusion in the first half of a preseason game against Orlando and did not return. Harden played just 13 minutes in the game, a 123-119 loss. Of greater concern for the Rockets, of course, is making sure Harden’s bruised knee is healthy and ready to go when the regular season starts, as the Houston Chronicle‘s Jonathan Feigen explains:

Suddenly, the to-do list, with all those check marks right where the Rockets would have wanted them, was meaningless. The first line, where the goal listed was to stay healthy, had made everything else too secondary to celebrate.

The Rockets had gone from clicking to limping when James Harden and Orlando Magic guard Evan Fournier collided late in the first half, with Harden slowly walking off with a bruised right knee.

Rockets coach Kevin McHale said that he had been given no update on the severity of the injury after the Magic had rallied back from a 22-point first-quarter deficit to take a 123-119 win. Harden left without speaking, but did not seem to have difficulty walking.

Rockets players did not seem overly concerned, offering an indication of Harden’s reaction.

“He said it’s not really that serious,” Rockets guard Ty Lawson said. “We just want him to get better and get healthy so he can get back to playing well.”

…

The Rockets began the game playing exceptionally well, but that soon became secondary to one fast break and one slow walk to the locker room.

Harden had just returned to the game with four minutes left in the half when he lost the ball on a drive and never quite got in front of Fournier on a break the other way. Fournier’s left leg banged into the side and back of Harden’s right, and both went down. Harden limped behind the baseline floor seats at State Farm Arena and then straight to the locker room with a shout that sounded more from frustration than pain.

“You kind of know if it’s serious,” said Corey Brewer, who was waiting to check in for Harden before Harden even reached mid-court. “I think he just bumped it a bit. Preseason lasts a long time. He has time to heal.”

***

No. 2:No timetable for Kerr’s return — A rare spinal fluid leak during July surgery on a ruptured disc in his back is the cause for Steve Kerr‘s indefinite leave of absence from the Golden State Warriors, Kerr told reporters at the team’s practice Sunday. Kerr went into detail about the cause of his absence to clear up any confusion and to reiterate that there is no timetable for his return. Diamond Leung of The Bay Area News Group has more:

Eleven days after the Warriors announced Kerr would temporarily step aside to focus on rehabilitation, he gave his first interview after Sunday’s practice and detailed why he doesn’t know when he will return to coach the team.

“The leak is fixed, but still getting some symptoms,” Kerr said of his follow-up surgery early last month. “And that’s why I’m out.

“And because I’m still having symptoms, it makes it difficult for me to be on the floor. And so the prospects are good. I’m going to heal. The doctor says everybody’s body is different. It’s a matter of your body sort of recalibrating. And unfortunately, it’s not like a sprained ankle, one to two weeks. There’s no telling. It’s a little bit open-ended, but everybody’s very confident everything will be fine.”

…

Kerr said he has not questioned his long-term future as a coach going through the grind of an NBA schedule.

“I’m 50 years old,” he said. “I’m in good shape. I’m in good overall health. This is a unique circumstance, and once it’s resolved, I’ll be fine.”

Kerr said he wanted to be upfront with fans and media members about his condition after declining an interview request Friday while attending the Cal volleyball match.

“I’m not going to put a timetable on when I’m going to come back,” Kerr said. “I have to get my health right before I can coach the team, before I can bring the energy that’s necessary to coach the team.

“When you are forced to be away, it hurts.”

***

No. 3:Kobe has no plans to rest in preseason, or at all — Easing into his 20th NBA season is not the way Kobe Bryant plans on doing things for the Los Angeles Lakers. In fact, he’s doing anything but this preseason, and according to coach Byron Scott, has not even discussed it. Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News has more:

As he sheds off rust without showing any setbacks with his surgically repaired right shoulder, Kobe Bryant left the Lakers feeling encouraged for two reasons.

In the Lakers’ 126-83 victory over Maccabi Haifi on Sunday at Staples Center, Bryant took advantage against the Israeli professional team by posting a team-leading 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting, 4-of-6 from 3-point range and 5-of-5 from the foul line in 19 minutes. Lakers coach Byron Scott also reported feeling “very optimistic” that he will play in all of the team’s four remaining preseason contests.

“He wants to play every game,” Scott said.

That seems unlikely to happen, though, for the 82-game regular season. Bryant may sit out for at least a portion of the Lakers’ 18 sets of back-to-backs.

“We haven’t talked about that yet,” Scott said. “I talked to him a week ago and said, ‘We need to sit down and talk about back-to-backs and pick and choose which ones you’ll play in and which ones you’ won’t.”

***

No. 4: DeMarcus Cousins is living the big man’s dream — Sacramento Kings coach George Karl clearly knows the way to his big man’s heart. All he had to do was get DeMarcus Cousins out of the paint to make the Kings’ All-NBA center to smile. Cousins has been experimenting with his perimeter game during this preseason and it’s not just a gimmick. He’s polishing up his handle and working on his shot from deep as he dives into every big man’s dream. Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee has the details:

Cousins will not be shunning the post this season. But coach George Karl has said he will move Cousins all over the court. That includes allowing Cousins to shoot threes.

So meet Cousins, the floor spacer. He has never liked being labeled as just a post player, so this season he will have the opportunity to show he’s more than that.

“I don’t really consider myself a center,” Cousins said. “I’m just a basketball player. There’s so much I can do on the floor. People get stuck on the word ‘center,’ ‘big man’ and (are) kind of ignorant to the situation. I can’t really worry about that. I just go out there and do my job.”

And like anyone else, when there are changes to the job, there is an adjustment.

“It’s weird kind of floating out there,” Cousins said. “It’s a different thing, but I know it’s going to help the team, too. It’s just something I’ve got to adjust to and get used to.”

…

“It’s fun, but it’s also a process,” Cousins said. “This is my first time, but this is what the preseason is for, to knock the rust off, figure each other out and hopefully prepare for how we’re going to play during the season. I think we’re on the right path.”

When Karl was hired last February, he said he thought Cousins could be just as good a face-up player as he is in the post. Karl was also intrigued with Cousins’ ability to dribble and pass the ball.

“I do have those skills but it’s still an adjustment,” Cousins said. “This isn’t just pickup at the park, it’s an adjustment.”

Cousins’ expanded freedom on the court will cause a problem for defenses. Teams that defend Cousins with a bigger player will have to deal with how to match up with him on the perimeter.

If teams counter with a smaller player, Cousins can work closer to the basket where his size and strength are advantages.

“I think Cuz will figure out a balance between what shots we want from him,” Karl said. “Some teams will let him go outside, some teams will let him go inside.”

Kidd-Gilchrist will miss Sunday’s game at Miami — which would have happened out of caution with the slightest of injuries — and be evaluated by team doctors Monday in Charlotte, the Hornets announced. That examination should provide more clarity on how long the starting small forward will be out and whether the absence could stretch into the regular season that begins Oct. 28, also in Miami.

While there was no way to immediately put a timetable on the recovery, losing Kidd-Gilchrist is a setback on multiple levels, especially since it was serious enough to require hospitalization. This was, after all, MKG on the comeback trail after injuries limited him to 55 games in 2014-15, and in his first action since signing a four-year, $52-million extension in the offseason. Also, even a short stay on the sideline will delay the chance for a centerpiece of the Charlotte future to mesh with newcomers Nicolas Batum (traded from Portland), Frank Kaminsky (drafted) and Jeremy Lin (signed as a free agent).

The new pairing of Kidd-Gilchrist and Batum is especially critical for the Hornets. The pair was projected to give Charlotte a strong pair of perimeter defenders as part of a critical season of evaluation for the team and Batum, before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in summer 2016.

The first look instead turned into Kidd-Gilchrist being hit while coming off a pick in the second quarter and hitting the floor hard. He was helped to the locker room and soon left the arena for the hospital.

The agreement will be finalized this week with a news conference to follow, league sources said.

As a member of the 2012 NBA draft class, Kidd-Gilchrist is eligible for a rookie extension prior to the start of the 2015-16 season.

Kidd-Gilchrist, the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, has developed into a cornerstone player for the Hornets at small forward. With the extension, the Hornets and Kidd-Gilchrist will avoid him becoming a restricted free agent next summer.

Kidd-Gilchrist averaged 10.9 points and 7.6 rebounds while also becoming a key to coach Steve Clifford’s defense last season.